Extras for Essence
In addition to working Carefully and getting Help (described in the main Essence section), there are a few other ways to get bonus dice for Essence tests. These are described in more detail below. Woven Into Chakra This is very much an optional rule for diligent players, since it requires some extra bookkeeping. It is similar to the "Weaving Magic into the Fiber of My Being" (BWC pg 289) rules for Art Magic: When you use a channeling and have given it a suitable name you can write that name down somewhere (along with it's Ob and a description of what it did). Whenever you attempt to use that new channeling, regardless of success or failure, you can mark a point of Aptitude towards weaving it into chakra. If you manage to do this a number of time equal to 13 minus your Essence exponent then the character will forever thereafter gain a +1D advantage when using that specific channeling. Recalling that Essence Channelings fill the role of "Charms" in Exalted Wheel, if you want an even higher powered game, then you can give each exalt a number of 'pre-woven' channellings equal to the number of lifepaths they've taken since exalting, plus 1 for terrestrials, plus 2 for celestials, or plus 3 for solars. Note: Remember that caste powers are already named, and while they don't grant a +1D bonus, their Obs are generally a bit lower. Meditation An essence wielder can make a special Meditation "centering" linked test before attempting to channel essence. The main skill entry (BWG pg 283) doesn't give an obstacle list for this kind of test though, so here's one that makes it more time-based: * Ob 1: Time is completely unrestrained. Centring takes about an hour. * Ob 2: The clock is ticking, but not dangerously so. Centring takes a minute or two. * Ob 3: Time is contained and being loosely tracked, like in Range and Cover or Duel of Wits. You must allocate a marginal success from another test to attempt to center before using Essence. * Ob 4: Time is highly constrained and finding even a second to yourself is distracting or dangerous, like in a Fight. You must script an action to attempt to center just before your scripted Essence use. ''(Counts as an Assess action.) * '''Ob 5:' Time is so constrained that you just have to squeeze your eyes for a split second and hope you did it right. Centering is instantaneous and does not require scripting. Fotenote: You can use these obstacles to centre for any test really. I've just put them here to explicitly state that Meditation can be used for Essence too. Cults A cult requires two things: An Affiliation with an organisation that worships you on a regular basis, and a Repuation within that organisation. Both must have the same rating (e.g. a 2D Cult costs 50 rps in total). It functions like the usual rules for Affiliations and Repuations, except that the GM can invoke the "Creepy Clause" or the "Mortal Enemy Clause" (BWC pp 261-262) as failure consequences when circling up members of your own cult. But it also has a secondary function: The Cult rating may be added to a single Essence test, a maximum of once per session. Mechanically, from the patron’s point of view, cults just work: They are a daily source of extra Essence. But from the cultists point of view, they are collectively praying, making sacrifices, performing rituals, and so on, to generate those bonus dice for you. As such, cults must be maintained. Usually as part of a Resources maintenance test—just add the Cult's rating to the Ob—or by using your miracles to actually answer their prayers every once in awhile; else they might lose faith. Using an Essence channelling on any of your Believers works at −1 Ob. (Minimum Ob 1.) Faith Since the 'Essence Wielder' trait works much like the 'Faithful' trait, we more-or-less remove it from the game in the lifepaths of Exalted Wheel. In it's place is the 'Believer' trait, which still only costs 3 pts but has some extra buffs: # It permanently open-ends the Ritual skill. (Uniquely, Resources cash dice or a Resources linked tests—taking the form of a material sacrifice—can also be used to grant bonus dice to Ritual tests.) # It allows the Believer to make a special Ob 5 Ritual test to ask for Guidance from their patron (like on BWG pg 525). # It may be used like the Meditation skill (above) to send the patron some bonus dice for Essence, from anywhere in the world. (This is basically what your cultist are doing when you draw on them for power.) All Believers of the same patron can help each other with this roll using the "Join us in Prayer" rules (BWG pg 526). The Immaculate Order Cults are illegal and heretical in the eyes of the Immaculate Order. Dragon-Bloods of the Realm, therefore, cannot feasibly even maintain a 1D cult without risking prosecution. Out in the Threshold, it’s far easier to get away with a cult, but the consequences of being caught with a cult should be similar to the consequences of Anima flare. (Hence why having a cult also enables the GM to invoke the Mortal Enemy clause.) Despite their harsh opinion of other Cults, the Immaculate Order is itself a Cult. The difference is that a whole pantheon of gods have taken them as their cult, and it's typically only at the 1D or 2D level. Only trained specially monks of The Order have permission to perform the rites of the gods on the Blessed Isle, and only according to a strict calendar. Places of Power A "Demesne" (pronounced: dɪ`meɪn) is a natural leyline of power that weaves through the earth and culminates into a point until it spews up raw energy like geyser. They are places of power. And essence wielders can draw on them in times of need. Mechanically, they are infinitely re-usable bonus dice for Essence tests, except: * They're property. They cost: 20 rps for 1D, 40 rps for 2D, or 80 rps for 3D during character creation. * They're stationary. That is, you have to physically go to one to use it. And anyone can use one. (A demesne can therefore be found in-game in the wilderness, or stolen from another character by taking over their territory.) * They've an associated Sphere. (e.g. Sun, Moon, Air, Earth, Fire, Water, Wood, Fate, Void, Wyld, etc.) A character who uses one that is not associated with one of their own Spheres suffers +1 Ob to relevant tests. You can even almost think of them as temporarily raising your Essence exponent while you're in their presence (though this isn't quite true). Manses A "Manse" is the name given to a structure—a shrine, temple, fort, villa, palace, castle, etc.—that's been built on top of a demesne. It is bought separately, also as property (BWG pg 205). The structure must at least be larger than a cottage, though it may be a Workshop. (Workshop Manses are usually referred to as 'Factory Cathedrals'.) It is not necessary to have a Manse in order to use a Demesne, but having a big building-shaped lock on one usually means that other people can't just randomly use it and Tax it. Manses often have ulterior functions too. They can recharge artefacts, power automated defence systems (with a crude sort of essence-electricity), and with proper "plumbing" they can even raise the level of the demesne it's built upon above it's natural maximum output. Overcharging a Manse To overcharge a manse—or rather, to use a manse to overcharge the demesne it's built upon—you must make a Architect, Engineering or Plumbing test at an Ob equal to 2 plus the underlying demesne's die rating multiplied by 2. This test takes one month per die rating, requires special tools, and uses up 3 times the die rating in hours per day for the full period. : For example, it would take an Ob 4 test and 3 hours per day for a month to attempt to overcharge a 1D Manse. Or an Ob 8 test and 9 hours per day for 3 months to try it on a 3D manse. If successful, the Manse's rating is increased by +1D for the remainder of the Campaign. If you fail then you still mark a test, but the time is otherwise completely wasted. And a test like this can only be made once per Manse per Campaign. Building a Manse In general, building your own manse from scratch on an uncapped demesne is very difficult, and quite expensive. There are rules in the original Exalted rules for doing this (in Oadenol's Codex especially), but Burning Wheel's wider spread of skills can make the process more granular—if that's what your game is about. After all, it's someone's job somewhere. The most important things are the architecture, engineering, and the plumbing. An Architect test to plan a manse will be at least Ob 3, but will depend more on the desired shape of the building than anything else. An Engineering test to design any auxiliary features, traps, weapons, etc., that make use of surplus essence is going to be at least Ob 4. And a Plumbing test to properly channel the essence to all the right places will be Ob 5 plus the die rating of the demesne. The Plumbing is probably the most crucial part when building a new manse. Because messing that up will mean that the manse is under-utilising its available power, or leaking essence, or something else bad. Stones of Power A "Hearthstone" is a condensed nodule of crystallised essence that is grown by a manse over the course of months or years. They function more like Funds for Essence. They too have a rating between 1D and 3D, and they are associated with the same Sphere of Influence as the underlying demesne that they came from, but they are portable. However, their power diminishes with time, and they must be re-charged. The way a Hearthstone works is like this: Make a normal Essence test and declare that you want to use a Hearthstone. If this is done then you must Tax. Any margin of failure from this Tax test is deducted from your Hearthstone's die rating first. Then any overflow goes into one of your stats as per the usual rules. Because of this, it can useful to track a hearthstone's current and maximum rating, e.g. "Gem of Immortality: 1D/3D". Hearthstones have one extra feature though: They're perfect vessels for enchantments. Once they are grown they can be imbued with a domain appropriate effect that passively affects the carrier of the stone while it retains at least one die of charge. Such effects do not really depend on the die rating of the stone, but those dice grant a one-time bonus to the Enchantment test itself. So typically, the higher the rating of the stone, the more powerful of an enchantment it can contain. Growing Hearthstones To grow a hearthstone you must own a manse (or at least have regular access to one). The right kind of structural features must be in place, to cradle the stone while it grows, and to gently pump energy into it without breaking it. And you'll need a lot of time. Crystals can take a long time to grow. Make an Architect, Engineering, or Plumbing test at an Ob equal to 1 plus twice the rating of the Hearthstone you want. The intended die rating cannot exceed that of the underlying demesne. The test takes one season (three months) per die rating desired, and a number of hours per day equal to the die rating. Success means you've now got a hearthstone with starting dice equal to it's rating. Failure means that the hearthstone shatters as soon as it's removed or turns out to be dud, and the time is completely wasted. Once a hearthstone has grown to its intended size, it cannot be grown larger or overcharged. You must grow an entirely new stone instead. Re-charging Hearthstones To re-charge a hearthstone, you must use the original manse that it came from, or one associated with the same Sphere of Essence. You must make an Architect, Engineering, or Plumbing test at an Ob equal to twice the rating of the amount of dice you want to charge it with. This value cannot exceed the hearthstone's original size. This test only requires a number of hours equal to the amount of dice you want to charge the stone with, but failure rides and means that the hearthstone is rejecting this particular manse and you must either find another. Though sometimes it's easier just to grow a new stone. Enchanting a Hearthstone Use the usual Enchanting rules (BWC pg 290) to enhance the power of a hearthstone. The hearthstone is the vessel and grants bonus dice to the Enchanting test equal to its essence die rating (not taxed), but an Antecedent must still be distilled normally. All hearthstones must have a special 'Lasts until it loses charge' Internal Duration (+2 Ob) and the 'Rechargeable' effect (+1 Ob) placed on them, for the purpose of everything described above. And no hearthstone can have the 'Modularity' effect placed on it. Hearthstones that grant weapon enhancements must be socketed into the appropriate weapon, and hearthstones that grant the equivalence of armour must be socketed into appropriate jewellery or clothing. Socketing enchanted hearthstones into magical materials is a great way to "easily" craft greater artefacts out of lesser components. Though the savants of the First Age would scoff at such things if they could see them, as they'd have done it all in one test. See the Artefacts section for more info. Starting with a Hearthstone If you want to begin play with an un-enchanted Hearthstone then you can buy one with rps. You can own a Hearthstone without a Manse, but having a Manse reduces the price by 4 rps. They cost: 12 rps for 1D, 18 rps for 2D, and 24 rps for 3D. If you also want the Hearthstone to be enchanted then add extra rps to the price equal to twice the Enchanting Ob of whatever power you want it to bestow. Just remember that if it gets Taxed to zero dice then the power of the enchantment fades until it is re-charged.